Hell's Rejects
by Superior Firepower
Summary: With the portal closed behind him, Dante can only go forward. An unexpected meeting opens old wounds and then a new foe rises from the human realm, reuniting old friends and forging new ones through the hardships Dante and his friends face.VxDxV LxOC TxLu
1. See you in Hell

_Title: Devil May Cry 5_

_Author: Superior Firepower (AKA Haliaetus and POC)_

_Rating: M. The games are rated M, after all…._

_Disclaimer: Capcom owns DMC, not us. Though we can always wish, right?..._

_Pairings: What else but the twinsies? X3 VxD, LxOC, possible TxLu_

_Warnings:…uhmm…..where to begin? Twincest, language, graphic violence, blood and gore, amazingly cool peoples, dark themes, demonness, alcohol abuse and usage, beasties, yaoi, probable lemons in the future, did we mention really cool peoples?_

_A/N: THIS FIC MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK. Actually, on second thought, it does contain spoilers for every game except 4, since we're kinda pretending 4 didn't happen, so deal with it. Also, if you haven't played through three, some of this won't make sense, but that's why there's a spoilers warning, after all._

_This takes place just after DMC2. Yanno, right after Dante says that everlasting line about going all the way to Hell and drives off dramatically on his motorcycle. _

_Since there are so many loop holes and unanswered questions, the DMC fans get to fill a lot in. People will disagree, but this is the way we're doing it: __- Dante and Vergil are about 25 years old. (It was the youngest we could make them and still keep to the basic storyline throughout the games.) __- Dante has taken to alcohol as a crutch for his emotional issues. (No explanation needed, if you've played the games. Otherwise, figure it out as you read.) __- Vergil still doesn't have all of his memory back. (After he was defeated as Nelo Angelo, he ended up back in Hell as himself, but didn't have any memory. So he's slowly been gaining those back.)_

Mission 1: See You In Hell…

_"Go to Heaven for the climate, Hell for the company." - Mark Twain_

Dante stared straight ahead as he drove the motorcycle through Hell.

It was really getting dull.

After all, the scenery actually hadn't been changing much. Barren landscape after barren landscape. The sky was pretty much the only thing that changed and he wasn't looking at it much.

He really just wanted to go home. Pretty simple. Take a shower and go to bed, be generally comfortable. Order some pizza, have a couple beers. He kinda missed humans too. After ugly demon mugs being the only thing to look at for a while, he wished for a human one. Hell, he even missed Lady.

Stopping short, Dante looked at that last thought incredulously. _Dante…dude…you really know things are bad when you miss _that_ woman_.

He grit his teeth and leaned his head on the handlebars. _God dammit. This wasn't the greatest idea I've had, definitely. But what other choice did I have?_

A rustling, clanking sound came from his right. Blearily, Dante raised his head and stared at the approaching pack of Abysses.

He cursed fluently under his breath and pulled out his trusty Ebony and Ivory. These guys were friggin' annoying. Almost bored, Dante methodically shot each one as they lumbered towards him.

He wasn't entirely sure how many hours he'd been driving randomly through Hell. He estimated that it'd been at least 10 hours, though. But the wounds he'd gotten throughout the last couple of days were starting to bug him. While he could normally heal quite fast, he'd been fighting a lot of big ugly badasses. And the major wounds had started to add up.

That plus intense hunger and fatigue (lack of sleep for so long was never fun) and the absence of alcohol in his system did not make for a happy Dante. In fact, he was feeling rather shitty and generally pissed off with everything. And the shakes. He'd been getting the shakes off and on for a little while now. He'd had a small canteen with some vodka init hidden away in his coat, but that was long gone.

He felt he rather had a right to feel pissed, what with saving the world (AGAIN!) and putting his sorry ass on the line. And no one would probably ever know of it. AND there was a distinct possibility of never getting out of Hell and back home.

He was not happy in the slightest.

Dante started the motorcycle again and revved forward, his teeth rattling in his head as he ran over one of the dead monsters. After driving a bit longer, he realized that he really needed to stop and get some rest after he almost crashed the bike twice. Falling asleep at the handlebars was _not_ the way he planned on dying.

He fully planned to on going out of the world the same way he came in: kicking, screaming, and covered in someone else's blood.

So Dante turned off the ignition and lay the bike down on it's side so he could lean against it when he sat. He placed his twin semiautomatics in easy reach, next to Ebony, Ivory, Rebellion, and the collection of other weapons he had collected along the last journey. Including the lovely missile launcher, which was set up against the motorcycle next to Dante.

If he heard anything suspicious, his senses would wake him up and he could grab any of the many weapons he had.

After all, he'd only be taking a…little…catnap...Just a…little…

He was asleep within seconds. And while his mind wanted to continue to stay alert, his body knew that it was as fatigued as the rest of him, and forced it into slumber as well.

* * *

Slowly coming to a stop, Vergil raised his head to the ever-changing sky of the demon realm. With an expression of mixed regret and longing, cultivated over the years he'd spent wandering this realm, he sighed slightly and took a deep breath to brace himself and took a deep breath to brace himself for continuing his wanderings.

Frowning, he took another breath, trying to catch scent he'd detected. There! Very faint, but still there—the sharp tang of fresh blood.

Figuring that anything was worth investigating in his current bored state, Vergil quickly redirected himself. He set off at a quick pace, wondering vaguely who or what was bleeding.

A few minutes later, he crested a rise and the view spread in front of him, causing him to stop short. The remains of several Abysses, blown almost out of recognition, were strewn across the ground. Around them, their blood was spread a good distance, soaking into the ground.

Walking closer, a glint in the steady light caught his eye. Stooping to pick the object up, Vergil peered at it with growing interest. It was a bullet casing, the likes of which he'd seen used with only two guns in his life. Ebony and Ivory.

_Dante…_

What was his brother doing here? The last time he'd seen him – several years ago in the demon realm – the other man had been had been about to return to the human realm. Looking around, Vergil caught side of the unmistakable tracks of a motorcycle, Dante's preferred form of transportation.

Almost without thinking about it, Vergil began to follow the clear tire tracks. A vague idea had formed in his mind, giving him a purpose. If Dante was here, he was going to find him.

Some time later – he was no longer aware of the passage of time in this timeless place – he saw an object in the distance. Picking up the pace, he was nearly running by the time he got close enough to make out the motorcycle and the figure leaning against it. Coming to a quick halt, he approached his twin hesitantly, unsure of how his presence would be received.

Dante didn't react as Vergil came within six feet of him. Suddenly worried about the way the demon hunter was lolling against the bike, Vergil slowly reached out to brush silver hair away from Dante's face, his fingertips trailing along the other's cheek as did so. Dante sighed almost inaudibly, leaning slightly into the touch.

_Not dead, then_, Vergil thought, ignoring the rush of relief. _Just asleep and no wonder_. Carefully, Vergil ran his eyes and hands over his brother, mentally cataloguing each wound and bruise he came across.

Finished, he rocked back onto his heels, regarding his brother as he thought.

* * *

Braking, Vergil stopped the bike in front of the cave entrance, automatically reaching back to steady his brother's comatose form where it rested against his back. He kicked the stand down and carefully dismounted, pulling Dante into his arms as he did so. Hoisting his brother into a more comfortable position, Vergil strode into the cave, leaving the bike outside.

The interior matched the stark, rocky outside. The gray rock was interrupted only by a rough wooden table and a low bed with a thin, brown woolen blanket spread over it in a semblance of neatness.

Gently, with care for the numerous wounds on Dante's body, Vergil laid him on the bed, taking a moment to pull the long, red trenchcoat and well-worn combat boots off. Standing there, holding the boots in one hand and the coat in the other, the half-demon realized something that threw him for a loop.

He'd missed Dante.

He'd missed sparring with him, both physically and verbally. Missed his brother's constant presence and his temper. Hell, he'd even missed being caught up in his twin's schemes.

But, he reminded himself sharply, there were still gaps in his memory. Mundus had done something to him, made him forget, and now he was slowly piecing together again who and what he was.

He could remember his teenage years, but the time before his twelfth birthday was still hazy. At eighteen, there was another gap—only a year this time. The attempt to bring the demon realm to the human one, the actual confrontation with first Dante, then Arkham, was clear in his mind, as was his decision afterwards to face Mundus. It was after that that he had another missing section, up until he'd found himself wandering the demon realm five years ago.

Shaking his head, he focused again on the here and now. The coat was folded neatly and set next to the bed, on the floor, the boots next to it. Pulling off his own coat, Vergil stuck a hand into a pocket, pulling out a lighter, some cigarettes and a flask of brandy.

Tossing his coat onto the wooden table, he set the flask next to it and took the lighter and a cigarette outside. Dante wouldn't wake up for a little while—their demon blood helped them heal faster than humans did, but it wasn't instantaneous—and he had to think about some things. Namely, how his brother had gotten here and what exactly had happened in those gaps in his memories.

He wasn't so concerned with his early years; he'd been with his family as a teenager, so nothing bad had happened at that time. It was that year between his leaving Dante and when they'd met again at Temen-ni-gru, as well as the time after his defeat at the hands of Mundus, that worried him the most. Lighting up the cigarette and taking a deep drag, he let the smoke out in a long breath, watching it dissipate absently as his mind wandered.

_A library, an oily voice interrupting…blood and his reflection in eyes shining with madness…grin as twisted as the mind behind it mind and greedy words asking something of him…_

The cigarette dropped to the ground, still burning, as Vergil clutched his head, the memory narrowing the gap in his mind. He'd met Arkham in that library, reading up on the known ways to open a gate to the demon realm. The human man—part devil, by that time and already going mad from his inability to control it—had wanted to know more about the legend of Sparda and his sons. They had come to an agreement that day, Arkham giving Vergil what resources he could to help the half-demon to achieve his goal.

To think that he'd—that they'd all—been played by the man a year later. Arkham had only wanted Sparda's power for himself and had even managed to get his hands on the Force Edge before Dante and Vergil had stopped him. It had been a close call, though, even with Arkham out of the picture, since Dante had refused to give up his half of the amulet when they'd fought. The last he'd seen of his brother had been as he stood on the cliff edge, hand outstretched and bleeding from Yamato's cut. As far as he knew, Dante had returned to the human realm to resume whatever life he'd carved out for himself in that world.

Sighing, Vergil bent to pick up the fallen cigarette, knocking the ash off the end before sticking it back into the corner of his mouth. His head still throbbed lightly, but not as bad as that first pang, and he was used to it by now. The past five years had been marked by many such occurrences as his memory had rebuilt itself.

When another twenty minutes and two more cigarettes had passed without any more memories joining the most recent, Vergil sighed again, dropped his current cigarette onto the ground and smashed it under his heel as he turned to walk back into the cave. Dante should be waking soon and he wanted to be there when he did.

* * *

Dante groaned as he shifted, his mind swimming up through layers of sleep to struggle into consciousness once more; his subconscious didn't mess around when it knew sleep was top priority. Damn. He'd probably have bike imprints from leaning on the motorcycle for so long.

Except, whatever he was laying on didn't feel like the unyielding metal of the motorbike he'd "borrowed" from that warehouse.

Opening his eyes felt like a Herculean task and he nearly gave up before they finally opened just enough for him to see a fuzzy expanse of brown. A short movement of his hand told him the brown was actually cotton, probably woven into a blanket, since the rest of his body seemed to be lying on the same thing.

Now, just where did the brown cotton blanket come from and how had he gotten on it? Another struggle with his stiff and unresponsive body resulted in slightly wider eyes and a new position—laying on his stomach wasn't very conducive to finding out where he was, but on his side was a bit better.

Not brown this time. Blue, Dante decided, trying to make his brain work at a more normal pace. Was it another blanket? It looked about the right shape, but then what was the gold trimming…Dante's mind ground to a stop as he stared at the coat draped over the table in front of him.

No way. No way in hell. There was no fucking way Vergil was here.

Closing his eyes, Dante quickly ran his usual litany through his mind, same as he'd done for the past five years—too bad he didn't have any alcohol here to accompany it.

Vergil is dead, Mundus had gotten to him and brainwashed him, then I killed him or Mundus did, but either way, he'd dead and he's not coming back, no one can come back from the dead, not even him. He is dead. Dead and gone and—

"You're awake already?"

No! Anything but that! Bad enough I ran out of the vodka, I don't need to start hallucinating on top of everything else!

"With the amount of injuries you'd sustained, I was sure you'd be asleep for a while longer. Still, they're definitely looking better. Here, it might be better if you lay on your back now."

Hands, strong hands, helped him roll onto his back. Dante kept his eyes tightly shut, not wanting to admit to the reality. _A hallucination. That's all it is. Just a dream. He's dead…Vergil…is…_

"Come on, Dante, I know you're awake. You might as well open your eyes. You've already slept the day away, so there's no reason you can't at least open your eyes."

The words reminded Dante of earlier days, when Vergil would come into his room to wake him up, often tipping him out of the bed without saying a word. The older twin had usually been up for several hours by that time, while Dante slept in as late as he could. Frowning, Dante banished the memory. But the voice was right; he _was_ awake, so he might as well open his eyes and face the day.

Slowly, he cracked one eye open, then the other. His own face met his eyes, a small smirk playing about full lips as amusement and annoyance warred in his mirror image's silver-blue eyes.

"Good morning, sleepy head," Vergil said.


	2. Friend or Foe?

_Title: Devil May Cry 5_

_Author: Superior Firepower (AKA Haliaetus and POC)_

_Rating: M. The games are rated M, after all…._

_Disclaimer: Capcom owns DMC, not us. Though we can always wish, right?..._

_Pairings: What else but the twinsies? X3 VxDxV background LadyxOC, TrishxLucia_

_Warnings:…uhmm…..where to begin? Twincest, language, graphic violence, blood and gore, amazingly cool peoples, dark themes, demonness, alcohol abuse and usage, beasties, yaoi, probable lemons in the future, did we mention really cool peoples?_

_A/N: Dante is firmly in denial and it ain't a river in Egypt, either…_

Mission 2: Friend or Foe?

_So Are you friend or foe?  
__'Cause I used to know? - __tatu_

For a moment, the twins just looked at each other. Then Dante closed his eyes, shaking his head slightly as if to deny Vergil's presence. "Now I know I'm dreaming," the younger muttered. "No way in hell would Verge say that…"

Vergil's nose scrunched slightly. "Why wouldn't I?" The only answer he got was a dubious stare and raised eyebrow from Dante. "No, seriously, I'm asking. Why wouldn't I?"

Dante stared another moment before turning over, back facing his twin. "Ya know what…goodnight…I don't need to deal with some goddamn hallucination. You're not even a good hallucination."

Vergil blinked, then grinned slightly. "What, I'm a hallucination now? That's pleasant, thanks."

The younger twin started to twist around to retort, when he caught the smell of the brandy. Suddenly much more interested in his surroundings, he sat up abruptly. "Where's the drink?" he demanded, eyes roaming the sparse cave eagerly. "I'm thirsty."

Vergil frowned slightly. "Well, all I've got is some brandy. That okay?"

"Great, fine, whatever. I just want something to wet my throat. Give it to me." One hand was stretched out, trembling slightly, though whether it was from the lingering exhaustion from his wounds or from his eagerness for something to drink was uncertain.

Vergil nodded and turned slightly to grab the flask he'd put on the table earlier with his coat. Twisting the cap off, he helped his brother drink the fiery liquid, pulling the flask away before Dante had drunk even half of its contents.

"That'll do for now; you can have more later, when you're closer to being fully recovered. Your body doesn't seem too eager to let you back on your feet after the beating you've given it," Vergil said, ignoring the glare aimed his way from the bed.

Sighing, Dante gave up and leaned back on the rocky wall. "So…mind telling me why I woke up with you right there? I kinda thought you were dead, y'know." He'd added the last in a flippant tone, but his eyes were closed, not betraying the stab of old pain lancing through his chest region.

"Dead…why?" Vergil sounded confused. Dante opened one eye to peer at his older brother, nonplussed by the shear confusion in Vergil's voice.

"Why did I think you were dead? 'Cause Mundus frickin' brainwashed you and then you got left on the other side of the portal as Nelo Angelo, you bastard!" Dante exploded. "I used your half of the amulet to open the portal, then they split and I couldn't find yours in time, so I had to leave without it! I haven't seen you in 5 fucking years!"

"Brainwashed?" Vergil repeated slowly. "I knew he'd done something, but…Nelo Angelo? Who's Nelo Angelo?"

Dante stared at his twin in open amazement. "You…don't remember?" he asked, his voice quiet as he absorbed the implications. Vergil shook his head.

"Not everything," he admitted. "I remember our fight on Temen-ni-gru, Arkham and the girl, Lady. I remember facing off with Mundus in this realm, but then he did something to me to make me forget…everything. I found myself wandering the demon realm five years ago and have slowly regained many of my memories, but I still have no idea what happened between those times. I was…kind of hoping you would be able to fill me in…" he trailed off at the closed expression on his brother's face.

"I…don't know the whole story," Dante began slowly, "but five years ago, Mundus tried to take over the world again. I had to stop him. Nelo Angelo was…was one of the bigger fish I had to fry. I fought him three times before I was able to face off with Mundus…Are you sure you don't remember this?" he asked abruptly, narrowing his eyes at Vergil.

"Positive," Vergil replied dryly.

"If you say so…Anyway, the third time I fought him, he dropped an amulet…your amulet. Nelo Angelo was…well, he was you."

There was an awkward silence. Vergil reached blindly for the table behind him and leaned on it heavily, blinking as he digested this newest information. Suddenly, he groaned loudly, one hand coming up to clutch at his head.

"Ah…Verge?" Dante ventured, sounding hesitant. "You okay?"

"I'll…be fine," Vergil ground out, his eyes tightly shut. After a few moments he slowly opened them, straightening once more and taking deep breaths. "Sorry about that. I just…remembered something. Not much, but I remember the…time we fought, when I dropped the amulet."

"Ah," Dante responded, still looking a little worried. "Are you sure you're fine?"

"…yeah…" Vergil muttered after a moment. In the part of his mind not dealing with his brother, he went over the new memory, testing it out and matching it up to where in his broken past it belonged.

A last blow against his armor…lightning flickering, growing stronger…a sea of white and noise…something—his amulet?—snapping and falling—no! give it back! That's important!—then nothing but whiteness…

He'd woken up after that in the demon realm, his amulet next to his outstretched arm. Half caught up in the memory, Vergil raised a hand to where the pendant rested against his chest, pulling it out and looking at the clear red crystal. It spun slightly, catching the light from outside and refracting it. As it spun to one side, he could make out the etching on the back, the words as familiar to him as his own name. Of course, considering that it was his name etched into the red stone, along with his brother's, that wasn't saying much.

Dante gave him a dubious stare, but decided to drop the matter. He shifted his position so he could sit up a little more, using the wall as a support. "Well, 'kay… To make the story short, for the last five years it's pretty much been business as usual. Nothing much to highlight, really." He shrugged and Vergil dropped his amulet to pay attention. This was what he wanted to know, to fill in the blanks in his memory.

"I'm here in the Underworld because I came to help this clan on Vie du Marii, a little island where the pagans came as a refuge from Christianity. Arius, this CEO dude, was trying to turn himself into a demon. I dunno how he figured that would boost his company's income," he joked, trying to lighten the tense air. "Anyway, this Lucia chick and I had to put a stop to it. But Argosax was inside the demon realm, so I had to come here to fight him, and this Despair guy. After that, the portal had closed. And while that prevented any demons from getting out, it also kinda trapped me. So I've been wandering around. Cue you."

Dante was watching the flask that Vergil had set back on the table, and now that he was finished talking, he reached for it. Wordlessly, Vergil picked it up and handed it to his twin. Dante grinned his appreciation and downed the rest of the brandy.

Vergil finally spoke again. "So you've just been fighting for the last five years?" A slight crease had formed in his brow.

"Well, there were some parties, and I ate, drank, and slept. And other stuff. But other than that, yeah."

Vergil was silent a moment, then he looked sharply at his brother. "Do you have your amulet?"

"Yeah, of course," Dante replied. "Why do you want to know?"

"The amulets are the key," Vergil explained. "If they're together, they'll open a portal and we can get out of here."

Dante blinked, then blushed slightly, feeling incredibly foolish. "Riiiight…I knew that……"

Vergil muttered something that sounded like a sarcastic "sure," then started to pull his amulet off. Stopping abruptly, he looked at Dante through narrowed eyes. "Nope. Not yet. I don't think going through the portal is a good idea when you're in this bad of shape."

"…huh?"

"You're still healing," Vergil pointed out, tucking his amulet back under his shirt. "I wouldn't be worried if you were in top condition, but you're not. So we're not going yet."

Dante let himself sag back against the bed, "Shit…Fine. Whatever." He blew a strand of hair out of his eyes and stared at a spot on the wall, decidedly not looking at his twin.

Vergil shifted in his stance. "Well, why don't you tell me about the girl you mentioned. Lucia. Who is she?"

Startled at the question, Dante flicked his eyes over to his brother before returning them to the wall. "Lucia? Well, she's a…construct. A created demon. Not too bad, personality wise, if a bit icy and aloof. Kind of like you, I suppose. She was originally created by the Argosax dude, but was defective or something, so she became the island's protector. Don't ask me how or why. That's about all I know about her, though. Maybe you'll meet her when we go back."

"Hmm, maybe. Do you still keep in touch with the other girl, Lady?"

"Yeah. She's doing fine. Got herself her own hunting business, though she does like to dump all the shitty jobs off on me. But otherwise doing quite well for herself."

He nodded. As Dante had been talking, Vergil had noticed that his eyelids were starting to droop slightly. "Maybe you should go to sleep. Your wounds will probably have healed some more by the time you wake up. Then we can go."

Dante nodded a bit sleepily and yawned. "'Kay. You just make sure you're ready to go." That said, he rolled over onto his side and shoved his face deeper into the pillow.

Vergil smiled gently at his brother. It had been too long…

He moved off to pack the few possessions he had in the cave and finished only an hour later – he hadn't had much that he would actually bring. He sat down in the lone chair and simply looked around. This had been his base for the past five years of his life.

But it had never been home. He wasn't all that sad to leave. He thought about that, wondering if that was strange. His gaze wandered back to Dante's sleeping form. For some reason, it seemed completely right to be going back. He had fought so hard to get into his father's realm and he was giving it up like that?

Well, he had to admit to himself that the last few years had been boring. But it was the notion of the thing. He had expected his pride to be hurt. But…it wasn't. He decided to save the thoughts for later to mull over as Dante began to stir. Apparently he had been thinking for longer than he had thought.

As Dante woke up, Vergil ran his eyes clinically over his brother's body, measuring his readiness. Although some of the worst wounds were still unhealed, he looked much better than he had. Whether he was ready to go through the portal was yet to be seen, though.

Dante blinked blearily a moment before yawning, stretching and sitting up. "So…You ready to get the hell outta Dodge? "

"I suppose," Vergil sighed, knowing full well that there probably wouldn't be any stopping his twin anyway.

"Sweet. Let's go." Dante swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood, his features becoming taut as his unhealed wounds protested.

Vergil's brows drew together. "You sure-"

"Absolutely fucking positive!" the younger brother snapped irritably.

The two stared at each other, and the look in Dante's blue eyes dared Vergil to say anything.

Wordlessly, Vergil spread his hands in a gesture of helplessness and also stood, grabbing the duffle bag to take out to the motorcycle.

Dante allowed himself, now that he was alone, to rub at his head and let out a low groan. His wounds hurt and his head was aching. But there was no way he was letting Verge catch onto how much he was hurting. Verge…

It still hadn't quite sunk in that his brother was actually alive. He'd gone so many years with his mantra and trying to make himself forget. He was tempted to tell himself that he was dreaming, but the throbbing pain was all too real.

A bit unsteadily, he got himself into his coat and boots, and collected his little arsenal. Just as he slipped Ivory and Ebony into their holsters, Vergil ducked back in. "Need any help?"

"No." The answer was short, clipped, and gritted out through clenched teeth. Vergil simply smirked at him, well knowing how much pride his brother had. Well, to be honest...they both had.

Vergil stood back and let his brother attempt to walk normally outside. His watchful eyes could note the trace of a limp and that his brother was slightly hunched over, but, wisely, he let it go.

After Dante had gotten out the door, he looked around and gave the cave a last mental goodbye. It hadn't exactly been comfortable, but…it had been his…base. He was reluctant to say home. It hadn't been that. But he'd been over this internal monologue already.

He just nearly felt like he was in a dream. He'd never expected Dante to arrive here, of all places. And that he was going back with him seemed … like he was getting a piece of himself back.

He shook his head at himself, smiling wryly, and followed Dante's lead.

Dante had already settled himself comfortably enough onto the bike and was tapping his foot. "Took ya long enough. Didja have to kiss every wall friggin' good bye? Let's go already."

Vergil simply snorted and waved his hand, motioning for Dante to scoot farther back on the seat. "You're not driving."

"Like hell I'm not!"

"You might be well enough to go home—and that's debatable—but you are in no condition to be driving! Do NOT make me knock you unconscious. I need you to give me the damn directions once we get back to the human world."

Dante said some very unpleasant things under his breath, but eventually scooted back just far enough to allow Vergil to slide on in front of him. (1)

Revving up, Vergil drove the motorcycle a ways into the wasteland, away from any prying eyes. Finally coming to a stop, he held a hand behind him, wordlessly asking. There was a long hesitant pause before Dante held out his half of the amulet for his brother to take.

Holding the two halves together, Vergil squinted as a bright light began to emanate from the rejoined key, though he kept a tight hold on it; no way was he losing it again. He could feel Dante hunker down behind him, probably using his body as a shield against the light.

After an indeterminable length of time, the light faded, leaving the amulet inert in Vergil's hands. Opening his eyes, he regarded the gently swirling gate that had been created to join the Demon world and the Human world. Handing the amulet—once more separated—back to Dante, he started up the bike again and headed straight for it, hoping he wasn't wrong to allow Dante to do this now. If he was wrong and Dante hadn't healed enough to survive the trip across…

No. Not thinking about that. It would be alright and it was too late, anyway. The gate had been opened and if they didn't cross now, the denizens of the Demon world would be on them quickly and that was almost a fate worse than crossing, since Dante definitely wasn't up to a fight.

Then they were passing through the gate and the world dissolved around them.

An eternity or two seconds later, he opened his eyes on the shadowed buildings of the city that Dante had settled in. The streets around him were unfamiliar, but Dante should know where they were. Twisting a bit, he tried to look at his brother, taking caution to not dislodge him from where the younger twin was leaning heavily on his back.

"Dante? You with me?"

"Nnhr. No. I'm floating in happy-lala land. Of course I'm with you, dumbass."

"Okay, just checking. Do you know where we are? You know this city better than I do." Vergil felt Dante shift slightly, turning his head to look at the surrounding buildings.

"Yeah…This is Hasser. You're gonna want to take the second left up ahead. Third right after that and watch for the sign. You can't miss it. I'm gonna take a nap, so don't wreck the bike, yeah? It's a pretty decent one." Almost immediately, Vergil could hear soft snoring.

Gently pulling away, so as not to wake Dante, Vergil ran over the directions in his mind. Third right, second left and watch for the sign. What sign? Dante had said he couldn't miss it, but how was he supposed to know…

Oh. That's how. He'd made the left turn a bit wide and was now staring down the street at the far end. The neon sign flickered slightly as he watched before resuming a steady magenta glow.

Devil Never Cry. (2)

Well, didn't that keep things on a low profile? Still, Vergil thought wryly with a slight smile, it was just like Dante to do something like that.

Pulling up in front of the rather decrepit building, he stared up at it for a moment, hoping that it wasn't as bad inside. His thoughts were interrupted by the front door opening and a red-haired girl come out, staring at him in surprise.

"Dante?"

Vergil stared at her, wondering how she knew Dante. Then he realized she'd directed the question at him, a mistake that he could see others making due to their similar appearances. It probably didn't help that he hadn't fixed his hair, so it still looked like Dante's.

Before he could correct her, though, she was already moving towards him and talking. "Dante, what happened? You didn't come back and the portal closed, so I came here, just in case, but who's this? He looks just like you."

She finally paused to take a breath and Vergil took his chance to say something. "I'm not Dante. I'm his twin brother, Vergil. Dante is currently unconscious and I would appreciate some help in getting him to a bed. "

Kicking the stand down, he started to figure out how to get Dante off of him before he realized the girl hadn't moved. Glancing up at her, he growled, "Move it, woman! He's badly injured and I don't want him getting worse."

She finally moved and helped him get Dante inside and up some stairs to a bed, where he tucked him in as best as he could. Following the woman back downstairs after he'd determined that Dante was as comfortable as he was going to be able to make him, Vergil turned his attention to figuring out who this girl was and what her connection to Dante was.

"What's your name?" he asked abruptly. She looked at him in surprise, but answered.

"Lucia. You're Vergil, right?"

He nodded shortly, turning his eyes away to look around the main room of the shop. "Yes. How do you know Dante?" Dante had already told him a little about this demoness, but he wanted to hear it from her as well.

"He…rescued me a week ago, on an island," she said slowly, watching him as he walked around.

Trailing his fingers along the large desk that dominated the room, he thought about his next question. Turning to lean on the desk, he crossed his arms and looked Lucia over, assessing what he saw.

She was slim, but she was obviously fit and a couple of long knives hung from her belt, unsheathed. Her bright red hair was pulled back into a rope, baring dark eyes and contrasting her dark skin. Nothing like any demon he'd ever seen, but then Dante had said she was a construct, so some oddities were to be expected.

"Well, since you don't seem to have any more questions, mind if I ask some of my own?" she asked, crossing her arms as well. He shrugged and she took that as assent to keep talking.

"You say you're his brother. Are you the same as him?" She wasn't talking about his physical appearance, Vergil knew.

"Yes." Short and simple. Always the best policy when dealing with an unknown faction.

"I see. So you, too, are a son of Sparda."

Something occurred to Vergil and he frowned slightly before interrupting Lucia. "Are you familiar with this shop?" he asked suddenly, startling a confused expression from Lucia.

"Yes, a bit. I've been staying here for the past few days, so I've had time to learn my way around."

"Good. Are there any contact numbers on a sheet of paper? There's someone I want to call and I'm pretty sure Dante has her number."

Lucia shook her head. "I haven't seen a paper with phone numbers on it. You'll probably have to ask him when he wakes up."

Vergil nodded and resumed looking around the room. "I…haven't been here in…a while. I will need some assistance in learning my way around and another set of hands would be of use. Would you—"

"Of course," Lucia interrupted frostily. "You don't have to ask. I don't have anywhere else to go and I consider Dante a friend. Of course I'll help."

Vergil nodded. "Thank you," he said simply, glad she couldn't see his face. It had taken a lot to humble himself enough to ask for help.

Unable to think of anything else to fill the silence, he headed back towards the stairs intending to watch over Dante until his brother woke up.

(1) No! You hentais, not like that! At least, not yet……XD

(2) We're going with what happens after number 1, so the sign is currently Devil Never Cry, rather than Devil May Cry. This is subject to change under Lady and Vergil's influence, however.


End file.
